Michael Stairs Memorial Concert
Featuring Dr. Geoffrey McDonald ’03
conductor, researcher, and educator
Wednesday, April 13
in Centennial Hall
About Dr. Geoffrey McDonald ’03
Dr. Geoffrey McDonald ’03 is a conductor of operatic and orchestral music. He has led performances with many prominent companies across the United States, including Seattle Opera, the National Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Opera, Atlanta Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Utah Opera, Wolf Trap, and The Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia, among others. A committed proponent of opera as a contemporary, vital artform, he has workshopped and conducted numerous world premieres by the country’s leading composers of opera.
Alongside his performing career, McDonald is also an active music researcher and educator. He holds a PhD in music psychology from the Hochschule für Musik in Freiburg Germany, and his work appears in leading scholarly journals. He is currently on the faculty of Mannes College, The New School, having previously taught at Bard College and the Longy School of Music. He graduated from Princeton University (summa cum laude) and earned his master’s degree from Mannes. He is a proud alumnus of The Haverford School, class of 2003. He lives in Brooklyn, NY, with his wife and two sons.
The Lecture Series
The Michael Stairs Memorial Concert brings a renowned musician to perform and spend time in a master class with Haverford students. The event aims to celebrate music as an academic discipline as well as a source of inspiration and joy.
The Michael Stairs Memorial Concert Fund
Established in 2018 by alumni, parents, and friends, the Michael Stairs Memorial Concert Fund honors Stairs' service to Haverford as an outstanding music teacher and director of the Glee Club and the Notables from 1986-2012. An accomplished organist, Stairs played for Bryn Mawr's Church of the Redeemer, the Wanamaker Grand Court at Macy's, and was appointed as organist of the Philadelphia Orchestra by Riccardo Muti in 1985. This fund is overseen by the Chair of the Performing Arts Department and supports an annual concert by a performer or composer who evokes the inspiration and admiration of students, just as Stairs did.
Support
If you are interested in learning more about this concert or making a pledge or gift to the Michael Stairs Memorial Concert Fund, please contact Stephanie DiSesa.